It is unsystematically dumped– usually at sites on the fringes of urban centres, and less frequently at temporary sites. These types of waste disposal act as breeding grounds for diseases and also pollute water sources in the vicinity, leading to serious health and environmental impacts. These poor waste management practices aggravate the existing problem of poor sanitation across the continent. 

The main concern is that the infrastructure and land use planning for waste management in Africa is not coping with the growth in the wastes, as well as the types of wastes. This is especially urgent in the slum areas that constitute a big part of many of the cities and towns across Africa. In rural areas, waste management infrastructures are non-existent, leading to high costs of health services, urbanisation and poverty.